This May, let's go by bike

Whistler’s Climate Action BIG MOVES Strategy identifies the six most impactful action areas we need to focus on as a community to reduce emissions and make Whistler a more climate resilient community. We all have a role to play! The RMOW, in partnership with Whistler’s environmental charity AWARE, has created Small Steps for BIG MOVES - 12 months of climate actions that each of us can take to support Whistler’s six BIG MOVES.

TAKE ACTION! This May, let’s:

Go by bike

Whistler is built for bikes and set up for success on BIG MOVE #1: Move beyond the car.

Riding your bike to work, to school, to run errands or even to get your creative juices flowing between work tasks is a fun and feel-good way to take action on climate. Plus it’s a perfect way to get your Health Canada recommendation of 2.5 hours of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for adults each week.

It’s no secret, Whistler loves it’s bikes and this action is a natural go-to for our community.

Ready to take action? Let’s try one (or some) of these Small Steps for BIG MOVES:

1. Be ready to cycle safely.

Whether on the valley trail or the road, brush up on tips for safe riding or learn bike-sense basics:

BC Cycling Coalition’s Bike Sense Program

2. Get your bike ready to roll.

Learn about maintaining your bike at a maintenance workshop - check out the Great Outdoor Festival and Whistler Public Library Spring events calendars as frequent hosts.

3. Sign up for Go By Bike Week and challenge your friends to join.

Each spring and fall, people across BC challenge each other to ‘Go By Bike’. Sign up for these week-long challenges and as an added bonus, you can use their distance tracker year-round to see how many GHG’s you save!

Check out Go By Bike in Whistler
Or Go By Bike BC

4. Check out Whistler’s secure bike storage options.

Did you know there are secure bike storage locations in the village? And available at many of Whistler’s busy events and parks. Be sure to know before you go:

Details of Whistler’s Secure Bike Storage can be found here
Check Bike Valet locations and dates here

5. Make your morning commute easy by planning and packing the night before.

One of the top tips shared by long-time bike commuters is to check the weather, pack your supplies and decide what clothing you need the night before. By putting your morning routine on autopilot, you can focus on getting to your destination ready to go.

What We Heard ~ Stories Shared

Thank you for sharing your stories!

Check out these small steps for BIG MOVES that some of our community members have taken:

Matt's family made a big decision to take their car off the road! With driving no longer an option, it has totally changed their mind set - even in bad weather, they've just accepted that they will be biking in the rain and have even come to enjoy it. Great commitment!
Catherine bought a bike to commute to work. After not having ridden a bike in over 5 years, she discovered the joy of the Valley Trail network and is stoked to be feeling confident on her bike again after so long. Happy trails and happy planet!
Cindy loves to go by bike in the spring because it helps to get the legs in shape for summer bike season! Add a backpack full of groceries and it definitely counts as a full workout session :)

We invite you to share your stories about your small steps for BIG MOVES every month. There's a chance to win some great prizes if you submit a story! Have a look at our June theme: whistler.ca/E mbraceTheValleyTrail.

Be sure to cycle through these bike-related quick facts:

1. 54% of Whistler’s carbon footprint comes from private passenger vehicle trips within Whistler

This means changing our habits around personal transportation can quickly help us tackle Whistler’s biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

2. By 2050, if just 14% of travel in world cities was by bike, there would be an 11% reduction in carbon emissions

In many communities where biking is already prolific there the increasing use of bikes has resulted in the redesign of infrastructure to accommodate safe bike use. Whistler’s Valley Trail helps make Whistler a bikeable community and the RMOW continues to welcome feedback on ways to increase active transportation options.

3. Between 1996 - 2016, over a third of the communities where cycling has increased most were in BC

Cycling is increasing across Canada in both small and large communities. Forty-two of Canada’s 100 census subdivisions with populations over 50,000, saw the rate of cycling to work increase between 1996 and 2016. Widespread growth occurred in British Columbia, where six of the top fifteen communities for cycling increase can be found.

4. Last year, Whistler saved 3,190 KGs of GHGs during GoByBike Week